Pet Scoop: Three Elephants Arrive in D.C. From Calgary, Bat Dogs Star in Baseball Games

May 27, 2014: We've scoured the Web to find the best and most compelling animal stories, videos and photos. And it's all right here.

Calgary Zoo

Maharani, left, and her mom, Kamala, right, are among the three elephants transferred to the National Zoo from the Calgary Zoo.

Asian Elephants Get New Home

After a 60-hour, 2,500-mile trek from the Calgary Zoo in Canada to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., Asia elephants Kamala, 39, Swarna, 39, and Maharani, 23, are settling in at their new home. The three females will join the National Zoo’s herd of four elephants after at least a month of quarantine, which is standard for any new animal at the zoo. They made their journey in specially designed, 10,000-pound travel crates, and they were accompanied by keepers and veterinarians from both zoos. The Calgary Zoo decided in 2012 to relocate all of its elephants based on their long-term needs. Kamala and Swarna were born in Sri Lanka and lived at the same orphanage there for a period of time with two of the zoo’s current residents, Bozie and Shanthi. It’s possible the elephants could recognize each other when they’re reintroduced, but the zoo says there’s no way to know for sure if they do. The new elephants can be seen on the zoo’s new Elephant Cam. — Read it at the National Zoo

Baby Raccoons Left at Health Department

Officials in Westchester County, N.Y., are trying to track down the person or people who mysteriously left five well-fed, month-old raccoons on the doorstep of the county health department. The baby raccoons were left in a cage with bottles of milk, blankets and toys, and looked like they’d been well cared for. But because the animals are the most common carriers of rabies, whoever left the raccoons should be assessed for disease, officials said. The raccoons have been placed with a wildlife rehabilitator. — Read it at NBC Washington

Austrian Zoo Names One Rare Tiger Cub “Obama”

Five 1-month-old white tiger cubs made their debut at the White Zoo in Austria over the weekend. They were named Lila, Lulu, Lela, Lali — and Obama. Zoo owner Herbert Eder says it’s rare for all of the members of such a large litter to survive, and he was quite proud of their arrival. "It was like, I am the father! Because it was so great we couldn't believe it [at] first,” he laughed. “We had four cubs and two hours later the fifth was coming. And then we were really happy because all cubs were moving, were running to their mother, drank milk in the first five hours. And now you see we have very great, wonderful white tigers.” — Read it and watch it at My Fox Philly, and see more zoo babies of 2014

Bat dog Miss LouLou Gehrig does her job at the ACC tournament in North Carolina.

Bat Dogs Star at Baseball Games

Atlantic Coast Conference baseball found some delightful retrieving experts to help out at their championship tournament: bat dogs Miss LouLou Gehrig and Miss Babe Ruth. The dogs, who usually work the games for the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers, were on hand to clear the bats for the ACC games in Greensboro, N.C., over Memorial Day weekend. Georgia Tech won the tournament, its second championship in three years. — Read it at the Bleacher Report

Ducklings Saved From Freeway

A group of Good Samaritans stopped on a Houston highway last week to save the lives of 11 ducklings who were trying to make it across several lanes of traffic after their mother was sadly struck by a vehicle. The babies are now being cared for at the Wildlife Center of Texas, where operations manager Debbie Mitchell says they arrived stressed but otherwise in good health. "We've got them in a quiet, warm place. We raise hundreds of these little guys a year. They have a great chance of making it," said Mitchell. — Watch it at Houston’s KPRC